Gods
"Mythrel, with divine benevolence, descended from the heavens and bestowed order upon the rampant chaos that sought to devour the lands; through his guidance, we mortals achieved enlightenment." - Loremaster Keleden Menarus is host to a plethora of Gods and their numerous offshoots. Although it is not uncommon for cultures to create or falsify their own deities, the true Gods are cosmic creatures of immeasurable power that embody a specific aspect of the universe. The Gods, in their natural state, are wispy strands of energy that loosely surround a crystalline orb; the orb and energy can come in any array of colors and sizes, and the Gods may also take on mortal shells or other forms of containment. The most common types of Gods are listed below. Ascendants Ascendants are mortals who have amassed enough power to ascend into Godhood. The process in which mortals ascend is extremely difficult as it requires a perfect balance of power within themselves, so as to not overload their physical bodies and die. When a mortal reaches the point of ascension, they shed their mortal bodies and teleport into the Elemental Chaos where they spend an indeterminate amount of time generating their Godly form and amassing more power. When an Ascendant reaches their maximum potential within the Elemental Chaos, a point that varies from person to person, they may choose to descend onto a plane and look for ways to further increase their power. Demi-Gods Demi-Gods are very similar to Ascendants; they are mortals who have amassed enough power to become a God but are unable to shed their mortal bodies, instead remaining anchored to whichever plane they originate from. Demi-Gods cannot ascend into Godhood and are not as powerful as the Gods themselves, but they do retain the amount of power needed to ascend which makes them formidable creatures in their own right. Lesser Gods Lesser Gods are Ascendants who chose to return to the Material Plane and centralize their powers around specific aspects of the world such as animals, occupations, and objects. Lesser Gods are less powerful than other types of Ascendants, which leads to their primitive powers and frequent interactions with mortals to sustain themselves. Greater Gods Greater Gods are Ascendants who chose to return to the Material Plane and embody the natural forces of the world including physical concepts such as magic, time, space, and gravity. Greater Gods may also take on other more specific aspects like cultures, races, emotions, personality traits, and physical traits. Notable Greater Gods * Mythrel * Saal'en Planar Gods Planar Gods are Ascendants who chose to leave the Material Plane and Elemental Chaos behind to further ascend into the distant, more powerful Outer Planes. Planar Gods are quite rare as Ascendants often cannot sustain the power required to shift between planes, which results in their ultimate destruction. Planar Gods that exist within the Outer Planes act as the rulers and caretakers of their respective planes, often sending emissaries and visions to the Material Plane in attempts to recruit souls to power their worlds. Primordials Primordials are not exactly Gods, but rather ancient elementals that were born from, and fed off of, the Phlogiston. The Primordials obtained massive amounts of raw cosmic energy from the Phlogiston and subsequently used it to build and shape the known universe and its cosmologies. Although extremely powerful in their prime, the Primordials begin to decay as soon as they leave the Phlogiston and will live for 10,000 to 15,000 years before dying off. Dead Primordials enter an inert state where their elemental bodies decay and float aimlessly through the Void until captured by a star system, wherein the forces of gravity work to shape their body into cosmic bodies such as planets, moons, and other satellites. Notable Primordials * Lunaeres * Vorkast * Yvesta * Areus